


Breathing Deep

by AngeNoir



Series: Gifts for Tumblr Users [3]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, implied flashback
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-29
Updated: 2012-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-15 06:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeNoir/pseuds/AngeNoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>They had fallen asleep in a sprawl, Steve on his back, Tony half-on, half-off Steve's chest, twisted in a more diagonal position so that his head was on a different pillow and his knees knocked against Steve's shins. And Steve was pretty sure he'd be fine, after the nightmare, he'd be just fine, if he could just - breathe again.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathing Deep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tumblr user ironfries](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tumblr+user+ironfries).



> Again, me consolidating all my writing in one place so I can find it easily and stop finding random word documents hidden in folders. You can read ironfries' post that inspired this ficlet [here](http://ironfries.tumblr.com/post/29910393131/feeds-more-fluff-into-dash).

_This isn't so much a birthday gift as a ficlet inspired by a post by an awesome tumblr user,[ironfries](http://ironfries.tumblr.com/)._

* * *

 

There are a lot of things Steve enjoys about Tony. For one, Tony's just as insatiable as Steve, even if his body's not as quick to recover, and Steve's learned a whole new appreciation for toys and unorthodox sex positions and new techniques. For another, Tony's become very - cuddly. One of the best things Steve loves to do at night is to simply drag Tony against him, letting Tony's head rest on one arm while Steve curled the other to splay possessively over Tony's lower abdomen, their legs tangled and his nose buried in Tony's hair.

Which brings Steve to another thing he really enjoys about Tony - Tony's scent.

The super-serum did a lot of things, not the least of which was give him muscles. It made all his senses sharper, which means he can really  _smell_ and he'd feel more embarrassed about that if Tony just didn't smell so  _good_. Sandalwood and spice, musk and the hint of gasoline, ozone and heat. Tony was wonderful to smell - especially right out of the shower.

Sometimes, if Steve was lucky enough to be around when Tony got in from a day at Stark Industries or clambered out of the absorbing work he always did in the workshop, he would just sit and wait on their bed, listening to Tony in the shower. Sometimes Tony sang in the shower (he refused to believe Steve when Steve complimented him on his voice; insisted that there was an initial bias without even taking into account the distorting effects of pipes and close walls and porcelain) and sometimes he didn't; sometimes Tony took only ten minutes and sometimes he took hours. No matter how long it took, Steve would wait patiently in their bedroom, and when he heard the shower door open he would stand up, go to the door, and wait until it opened before folding himself around Tony, arms around still-damp skin and hips pinning the towel between them as he pressed his cheek against Tony's and just... breathed.

The first few times, Tony had had a minor freak out when Steve grabbed him - alternatively going stiff as a board or wriggling in fear - and Steve would let go immediately, let Tony know who it was that was behind the random hug. When Steve figured out that part of the problem was a lack of actual  _hugs_ in Tony's life, he began sneak-attack hugging Tony - when Tony was getting coffee (in the morning, in the afternoon, or in the evening), when Tony was tying his tie, when Tony woke up, when Tony was waving his arms wildly in describing his latest upgrade to the fridge or microwave or car - and in the beginning, it was shocking enough to Tony that he would just stop talking and stare at Steve.

Now, though, when Steve would walk into the kitchen and see Tony arguing with JARVIS about whether it was alright for a human to have fourteen cups of coffee in a six hour period, he would come up behind Tony, curling his arms around Tony's shoulders and resting his cheek against Tony's hair, breathing deep, and Tony would do nothing more than pat absently at Steve's hands and keep on.

Which is why, tonight, one of the best things about Tony - Tony's inherent  _cuddle_ -ness - was also the exact thing Steve needed.

They had fallen asleep in a sprawl, Steve on his back, Tony half-on, half-off Steve's chest, twisted in a more diagonal position so that his head was on a different pillow and his knees knocked against Steve's shins. And Steve was pretty sure he'd be fine, after the nightmare, he'd be  _just fine_ , if he could just - breathe again. Breathe in deep and smell Tony and not sickness and death and desperation and then burning, burning cold.

He twisted, reaching an arm out to tug Tony closer, and Tony grunted, wiggling on top of Steve, and let out a slurred mutter that Steve couldn't really interpret.

Still trying to let Tony keep sleeping, he tugged a little more, drenched in cold sweat and shaking and wanting nothing more to wrap himself around Tony and immerse himself in this world, this time, this place, but apparently that was enough to wake Tony up because Tony lifted his head, blinking at Steve, the arc reactor coming into view as he lifted his chest in the darkened room. "Ste?" he muttered.

Suddenly feeling very much like an idiot, like that little kid that clung to his blanket all throughout kindergarten until the older boys had taken it away and stomped it through the mud, Steve let go of Tony's shoulder and swallowed. "Uh. Nothing. It's - just go ahead back to sleep."

True to his contrary nature, Tony instead pushed up more from the bed, awareness coming into his eyes. "Steve?" he said, voice rough from exhaustion with an edge of tenderness most people never got to hear from Tony's mouth. "You alright?"

"It's fine, Tony," Steve replied, putting his hand back down and staring up at the ceiling. "Never mind."

There was movement next to him, Tony dragging his legs off of Steve, and Steve felt instantly colder from the loss of contact. With a shudder, he closed his eyes and tried to marshal his thoughts into some objective order.

Which was kind of difficult, if your boyfriend was poking you in the shoulder.

"On your side, Steve," Tony muttered, pushing and poking at Steve, and figuring it couldn't do any harm, Steve started to roll.

"No, wrong side, the other side, shit, it's too early, okay, I'm not at my best, but -"

Tony's words were soft background noise as Steve confusedly obeyed, turning the other way and putting his back to Tony. Moments later, Tony was clambering up close to him, throwing an arm around Steve's upper chest, manipulating Steve's body so that Steve's arm mirrored Tony's and Tony's cheek was pressed against Steve's hair, the covers dragged up over them. Tony shifted, throwing his leg over Steve's hip, and it was a little uncomfortable and awkward - Tony was shorter than Steve, after all, though not by much, and Tony's knee was pressing into the small of Steve's back and Steve could feel the muted coolness of the arc reactor's metal against his shoulder blades - but with Tony wrapped around him like this, the covers pulled up close and the steady heartbeat of Tony coupled with the almost imperceptible hum of the arc reactor and Tony's  _scent_ all around him, a sleepy edge to it that soothed as much as Tony's fresh shower scent...

Steve could breathe again.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Makes Scents (the 'Breathing Deep' Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6034020) by [AnonEhouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonEhouse/pseuds/AnonEhouse)




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